Studies conducted at different times in Ethiopia revealed that women are found at a disadvantagedrnposition. Different factors have been raised for this status of women. Gender division of labour isrnone of them, which affects the life of women directly or indirectly. The objective of this study is tornidentify the effects of gender division of labor 011 the socio-economic life of women, mainly on theirrneducation, employment, health and leisure. Jt was conducted among women engaged in differentrncategories of work, particularly, government and private employees in the formal sector,rnhouse wives, pet!y traders, housemaids and commercial sex works. Moreover, key informants werernalso involved. In-depth interviews, focus group discllssions and observation were employed torncollect data. The study was conducted in Addis Ababafocusing on two sub-cites, Yeka and Bole.rnThe findings of the study show that the existing gender division of labor affects the leisllre,rneducation, employment, and health of women covered in the study. Women, being engaged il1 thernthree spheres of work (productive, reproductive and community) live with little leisure or evenrnwithout having it at all. In the study, household responsibilities are found to be one obstacle tornwomen 's educational success. This is because domestic responsibiliry is mainly on the women'srnshoulder and men do not share the household chores adequately with women. As a result, womenrnhave no time to pursue their education and other self-development activities. HOllsehold choresrnalso affected women's free engagement ill paid employment through child care and its repetitivernand time consuming nature. In addition, women 's engagement in the three .spheres of work hasrnaffected their health due to work load and conflicting demands of their time. Moreover, worriesrnabout shortage of household budget affected women's health through depression and stress.rnThe study has also revealed that women are rarely represented in decision making positions.rnStereorypes play major roles in this respect. Those partiCipants who have reached at the higherrndecision making levels are facing some resistance and lack of recognition by co-workers andrncustomers. In general, women, due to their lower work status in the formal sector and lack ofrngovernment regulations in the iliformal sector, face frequent sexual harassll1ent and other violationrnof legal and human rights. A number of these are the effects of gender division of labor which isrnmainly built upon patriarchal ideology.